National Diamond Gets Facelift

The Botswana Softball Association (BSA) was handed back the National Diamond after it went through a facelift in order to meet COVID-19 protocols on. The handover was done late last week by the contractor, Manase Construction who won the tender for the project last year. The project budget was P409, 487.18.

The project manager, Gloria Gaosikelwe, explained that the procurement for the project was done according to the Public Procurement and Assert Disposal Board (PPADB) procedures. She said at some point there were some complaints that the tender was awarded to Manase, because of friendship.

“Manase has never been our friend. We did not even know them before this project. We only evaluated tenders that were submitted and they were the best bidders. The scope of the project was to do boundary fencing, refurbish the isolation room, erection of extension of dug outs, which are now 16m, which was a recommendation from World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). The old dug outs accommodated 15 players without spacing. The project also covered bathrooms and installation of wash basins. The scope did not cover the stands, flood lights, tuckshop, lawn and backstop,” she said.

Gaosikelwe said there were some additional works that were done including painting, tiling of isolation room and paving. She said due to the additional works, the budget of the project raised to P500, 000. She explained that the original fence that was to be used for the boundary was the diamond mesh, but Manase sponsored BSA with a much durable ClearVu invisible wall. Meanwhile, Gaosikelwe said the project has a three months defects liability period, starting from April. Other members of the facilities committee were Pako Maforaga (vice chairperson), Monkgogi Thakgathi, Keneilwe Moeng, Romeo Tshelametsi, Same Molete, Gontlafetse Batsetswe and Kelebogile Ditsele.

Former BSA secretary general, Tsuna Makwa, said the refurbishment of the National Diamond is a legacy of the previous committee. She said they requested for funding from Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC). She said they picked the best company for the project, which was Manase.

For his part, Manase managing director, Damon Chappelle-Molloy said they are proud to be associated with sport and youth development. He said his company is also involved in other project in football and conservation.